Rusted Boltgun's WIP

[Rusted Boltgun]

I would class myself as a beginner @ZeroWolf. My previous efforts can be seen in this thread - hair, beard and glasses in my mini-me plus some wings for a Night Lords Terminator.  And a bit of gap filling.

 

Spoiler

This Link  outlines the course and Baz starts at the beginning - mixing green stuff, how to apply it to the mini, then spreading it, removing excess, smoothing and then texturing (as required). Also greenstuff mixed with greenstuff - how to do it and where to use it.

 

Baz provided a demonstration where, for the first time, they used a camera which displayed in to a big screen at the front of the school hall. I think this was preferable to 14 people crowding round his table. He also provides photo sheets demonstrating the steps.

 

A couple of the people who were there had attended before, one guy wanted to learn to sculpt because he wants to enter Golden Demon. 

 

But it isn't a course on re-posing or conversions - that was discussed as being a potential following on course.

 

In addition to the four elements, there was a short demonstration on trim and I think some people attempted it, people were encouraged to push their limits and Baz provided individual feedback for each mini course, stepping in with remedial action and pointers where he felt they were needed.

There is quite a bit of Baz in the pieces I brought home - I think he wanted me to have something to aim for in my next attempts.

 

One of the main takeaways was that the tool he used (and provided to use in the course) aren't easy to get hold of and one bought from the Bay of E may require filing down to make it small enough. 

 

 

Overall, I got what I wanted from the course - hands on tuition and the time to practise.

[ZeroWolf]

Thanks for the break down, sculpting is something I'd like to try and do at some point, but my complete lack of skills has always been a barrier

[Rusted Boltgun]

8 hours ago, ZeroWolf said:

Thanks for the break down, sculpting is something I'd like to try and do at some point, but my complete lack of skills has always been a barrier

 

If you fancy trying it then there are some good YT videos out there and g-stuff is relatively inexpensive to have a play with. The tricky bit is getting a decent tool, I think. Mine are all too large - about double the size of the one I used at the weekend (an appointment with Dr Dremel is on the cards). But if you have a 'play' and like the results the course could be worth it. Most people had extra costs in the form of a hotel so the weekend was quite an investment, I was so lucky that I could commute.

 

I can send you the links for the particular dental tools and clay shapers (all grey ones are not the same) that Abz recommends, if that helps. Just go for it! 

[ZeroWolf]

That would be helpful if you don't mind 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Slow progress on the Boltgun workbench.

 

 

Started layering on the Bladeguard, built up the white on the Vespids and the grey and metal on their tactical perches.

 

The underside of the wings got some Skeleton Horde contrast and I like the effect. I can't decide what to do on the upper surface as I'm starting from more of a cream than an off-white. 

 

I wanted to build them all up and tidy the orange but I've run into a glue issue. My Citadel plastic glue ran out and my Revel Contacta dried in the nozzle so I can't get it out. If I can track down one of my tiny jam jars I will transfer it there but in the meantime I have ordered some Tamiya extra thin cement. 

 

I should probably practice some sculpting before the course recedes onto the dim and distant past...

[Firedrake Cordova]

1 hour ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

Revel Contacta dried in the nozzle so I can't get it out

The staff at my local GW solve this by heating the needle/spout with a cigarette lighter (I've never tried this, be careful, etc).

Edited January 31 by Firedrake Cordova

[Rusted Boltgun]

37 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

The staff at my local GW solve this by heating the needle/spout with a cigarette lighter (I've never tried this, be careful, etc).

 

That has worked in the past but not this time . I had the needle held in a pair of tweezers and ran a lot match underneath it. I got the flame I expected but no joy after reinsertion in the container. 

I much prefer the Citadel glue as you don't appear to get this problem. Perhaps it is thinner, more like the Tamiya cement?

 

As I couldn't paint or build, I mixed up some greenstuff/milliput mix and popped it into one of my bluestuff moulds for a bit of fun. Previous efforts have distorted so it will be interesting to see if this one works.

 

[ZeroWolf]

34 minutes ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

 

That has worked in the past but not this time . I had the needle held in a pair of tweezers and ran a lot match underneath it. I got the flame I expected but no joy after reinsertion in the container. 

I much prefer the Citadel glue as you don't appear to get this problem. Perhaps it is thinner, more like the Tamiya cement?

 

As I couldn't paint or build, I mixed up some greenstuff/milliput mix and popped it into one of my bluestuff moulds for a bit of fun. Previous efforts have distorted so it will be interesting to see if this one works.

 

What are you making with the mould if I may ask 

[Rusted Boltgun]

1 hour ago, ZeroWolf said:

What are you making with the mould if I may ask 

 

Legs!

 

 

Too much material and a poorly split two part mould but a fun exercise nonetheless.

[Endtransmission]

2 hours ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

I much prefer the Citadel glue as you don't appear to get this problem. Perhaps it is thinner, more like the Tamiya cement

 

I definitely have this with the Citadel glue. Every pot I get gunks up after a while. I have had to resort to pliers and the gas hob to heat it up enough for the tube to go pop. 
 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Thanks @Endtransmission,  in that case I'm glad I've ordered the Tamiya pot. Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon.

[Grotsmasha]

12 hours ago, Endtransmission said:

 

I definitely have this with the Citadel glue. Every pot I get gunks up after a while. I have had to resort to pliers and the gas hob to heat it up enough for the tube to go pop. 

Citadels plastic glue melts itself, I assume Revel will too, simply pulling the tube out and flipping it around and reinserting it will unblock it quick smart. If you don't want to wait, strip the plastic off a twist-tie, the metal centre fits inside the tube 

Edited February 1 by Grotsmasha

[Rusted Boltgun]

Thanks @Grotsmasha! Giving it a try!

Edited February 1 by Rusted Boltgun

[Rusted Boltgun]

On 2/1/2025 at 8:58 AM, Grotsmasha said:

Citadels plastic glue melts itself, I assume Revel will too, simply pulling the tube out and flipping it around and reinserting it will unblock it quick smart. If you don't want to wait, strip the plastic off a twist-tie, the metal centre fits inside the tube 

 

It worked! Thanks @Grotsmasha! I guess that's why the Reveal pot has that angle cut out at the front, so you can store it tipped. 

[Rusted Boltgun]

This latest update is somewhat lacking in photos though there has been some progress... 

 

Vespid

I have hot glued pennies to their bases as I was fed up with them tipping over in the slightest breeze. 

The upper wings have a coat of Flash Gitz Yellow (think that's the one?!) after I watched an Aeldari Fire Dragons painting video and realised what would look really good with orange.

Bases have base coats and weapons have been tidied up too with added brass and green contrast.

The upper wings were a breakthrough - the models had stalled through indecision.

 

Bladeguard

Some highlights on silver. 

Bronze detailing 

1st green layering as well as bringing shoulder pads up to the same state as the body.

Some work on the shield skulls, seals and parchment.

 

While I wasn't able paint for a week or so I got distracted with building. My recent sculpting weekend was Heresy focused so I've been teetering on the edge of a HH2.0 whirlpool. Another game I'll probably never play and will stop me from finishing any other armies! 

With the glue flowing again, I have been assembling a Rhino and a Drop Pod.

Each vehicle has a squad assigned to it (in my head). Both squads require kitbashing / sculpting work. Eek!

 

I've put the HH2.0 stuff aside for the moment as I really want to get the Vespid finished and avoid getting swamped by multiple projects. 

 

(Shh, I haven't finished my Ballistus Dread yet either...)

[Rusted Boltgun]

An Astartes shotgun requires two hands so most poses are exactly that - right hand on grip, left hand on slide.

But what if you wanted to carry something else in the left hand? 

 

Top - the good side

Middle - reverse side after

Bottom - reverse side before

 

I also played around with hair but haven't taken any photos yet.

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Looks like some good reconstruction work

[Rusted Boltgun]

And at last, a photo of some actual painting progress

 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Now with added basing materials 

 

 

The first time I have used this kind of stuff. I bought it off eBay a while ago when I first thought about doing some Word Bearers for HH2.0 

 

 

I think the 'urban rubble' I seek to recall it was meant to be works quite well with the Volkus bases. The Fists of Light definitely need upgrading now .

 

Once dry, does it need a coat of thinned PVA to seal it?

[Brother Christopher]

The xenos are pretty dope. I particularly like the skin, it turned out very realistic. The whites and yellows also appear to look excellent.

 

I have limited experience with doing proper bases but I suppose that a coat of PVA wouldn't hurt at all, just to be sure that the larger rocks stay in place, particularly should you transport the models.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I haven't used that particular product, but instead use sidewalk sand (I'm in Canada, so its sand to put down on ice and snow to provide traction) for my bases where the effect looks pretty similar.

 

I find that watered down PVA on top of the basing material really helps keep it in place and almost entirely prevents individual rocks/grains of sand from coming loose.  Further, I find it doesn't really look any different from the basing without the glue wash, which is nice.  Basically, I put some water in a small jar lid, squeeze in some glue (basic white "school kid" glue, I think mine is Elmer's), get some glue on an old brush and swirl it a bit to dilute it, then brush it onto the sand and the edges of the rocks on the base.

 

Here are some close-ups of my possessed that show the bases pretty clearly - and here is a picture of my "guitar villain" featuring a much more finely grained sand base (or here for an example of a bigger base), all done with the above "final glue wash" technique.

 

And yeah, they look great - that brown is such a great colour for their skin/exo-skeleton.

Edited February 13 by Dr_Ruminahui

[firestorm40k]

4 hours ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

Now with added basing materials 

 

Hmm, you might want to get some pesticide, your plants look to be suffering some kind of insect infestation 

 

Joking aside, your Vespid look great! 

[Firedrake Cordova]

16 hours ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

Once dry, does it need a coat of thinned PVA to seal it?

It's generally advised to apply heavily thinned-down PVA to help stop the sand getting abraded off the base - you want it thinned down so that you can just touch a blob of it onto the sand and it spreads by itself, so you aren't dragging your brush across the sand (which generally leads to lifting some of it off). You can add a little IPA to the mix to improve how the thinned PVA spreads, if you wish.